John McGowan

FLORENCE " John Livingston McGowan, 81, of Florence died Sunday, Sept. 19, 2004. A son of Susie Hill McGowan and W. T. McGowan of Timmonsville, John was born in Florence on Nov. 25, 1922. He grew up in Timmonsville where he graduated from Timmonsville High School. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1943 where he was president of the Senior Class, member of Blue Key Honorary Fraternity and a member and officer of Pi Kappa Phi social fraternity. He graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1947.

John served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and aboard the USS LST 537 taking part in the D-Day Invasion of Normandy in the European Theater. He also served in the Pacific Theater during the evacuation of the Japanese Army of Occupation from Korea.

He was an active Methodist and participated in the activities of Central United Methodist Church where he was a member for more than 50 years and served as a member and chairman of the Administrative Board. He also participated in numerous civic clubs and was a volunteer tutor for the Florence Area Literacy Council for many years.

John practiced law in Florence from 1947 to 1997 in a general civil practice directed toward banking, mortgage lending and real estate. He filed the lawsuit which was instrumental in bringing tax equalization to Florence County property owners. He retired in Aug. 1997 from the firm of McGowan, Keller, Eaton, Stewart and Hiller. He participated in the organization of the Bank of Florence and Pee Dee State Bank. From 1966 to 1987 he served as attorney for the Town of Timmonsville. He initiated and helped begin public housing in Florence and Timmonsville and was also instrumental in the organization of the Housing Authority of Florence, serving as its first chairman from 1968 to 1979. He served as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority from 1995 to 2003. During this period, the Urban Renewal Program, a multi-million dollar project under the supervision of HUD, resulted in the acquisition of the lands now occupied by McLeod Regional Medical Center.

In 2002, John was honored by the Florence County Bar Association with the Ralph King Anderson Jr. Award for dedicated community service.

John is survived by his wife, the former Virginia Bracey of Columbia; three children, namely, Cameron McGowan Currie of Columbia, Jeanne Hill McGowan of Arlington, Va., and John L. McGowan Jr. of Columbia; three grandchildren, John Rutledge Currie, Katherine Cameron Currie and William McGowan Withers Currie; and his sister-in-law, Elsie Gregg McGowan. His brother, The Honorable William T. McGowan Jr., Judge of the Civil Court of Florence, predeceased him in 1977.

The family would like to thank Gloria Hickman, Vicky Shaw and Louise Karim for their devoted assistance to Mr. McGowan and his family.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, in Central United Methodist Church, Florence. Interment will be at noon in Byrd Cemetery in Timmonsville directed by Layton-Anderson Funeral Home.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. today at the residence, 510 Oleander Drive, Florence.

Memorials may be made to Central Untied Methodist Church, 225 W. Cheves St., Florence, SC 29501 or to the National Parkinson™s Foundation, Mary Ann Sprinkle, Director of Development, 1501 NW Ninth Ave., Bob Hope Road, Miami, FL 33136-1494.